Wall of pre-cast slabs



oct. 22, 1957 b. R. ANDERSON 2,810,287

WALL 6F PRE-CAST sLABs Filed Aug. 25, 1955 /9 INVENTOR.

United States Patent() WALL OF PRE-CAST SLABS Dale R. Anderson, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application August 23, 1955, Serial No. 530,060

1 Claim. (Cl. 72-107) My invention relates generally to Wall structures, and more particularly to walls made from cementitious material, and pre-cast monolithic slabs therefor.

An important object of my invention is the provision of relatively large pre-cast slabs of concrete or the like, and of novel means whereby said slabs may be locked together in side-by-side relationship to provide a Wall structure which is quickly and easily assembled, and which possesses great strength and durability.

Another important object of my invention is the provision of novel means for sealing the joints between the pre-cast slabs of my invention and for locking the same together to provide a relatively smooth continuous wall surface.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a pre-cast wall-forming slab of the above type having novel means whereby adjacent ones of said slabs maybe properly positioned with respect to others thereof when the supporting surface therefor is rough and uneven.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of releasable locking means for temporarily anchoring adjacent slabs together during assembly of my novel wall structure.

The above and still further highly important objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims `and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings, whcih illustrate the invention, and in which like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in plan of a wall structure built in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a View in front elevation of the structure of Fig. 1;.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail corresponding to a portion of Fig. 2, some parts being broken away and some parts shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Referring with greater detail to the drawings, the numetal 1 indicates a generally fiat wall comprising .a plurality of like wall sections in the nature of relatively large monolithic slabs 2 that are mounted in side-by-side relationship on an elongated base member or footing 3. The footing 3 is, like the slabs 2, preferably made from concrete or like cementitious material and rests upon the ground, indicated'at X, see Fig. 2. Also preferably and as shown, the footing 3 is provided with an elongated upper surface 4 upon which the slabs 2 are adapted to rest.

Each of the slabs 2 is generally rectangular in form, having front and rear wall surface elements 5 and 6 respectively, parallel side wall surfaces 7 and parallel top 2,810,287 Patented Oct. 22, 1957 ICC and bottom wall surfaces 8 and 9 respectively. The bottom wall surface 9 of each slab 2 comprises a pair of longitudinally spaced flat surface portions 10, one each adjacent the lower end of each of the side wall surfaces 7, and longitudinally extended angularly disposed portions 11 between the flat surface portions 10, said angularly disposed portions 11 converging toward the bottom of the slab, see Fig. 6. The converging bottom surface portions 11 cooperate with the top surface 4 of the footing 3 to provide inwardly tapering recesses 12 which are adapted to receive wedges not shown, for the purpose of truing up the slabs 2 in the event of roughness or unevenness of the supporting surface 4. For the purpose of placing the slabs 2 in a straight line, so as to achieve a wall structure that is straight and even, I provide stop elements in the Y nature of locating pins or the like 13 which project up- Wardly from the top wall surface 4 of the footing 3, and against which portions of the front Wall surface element 5 of each slab abut.

The opposite side Wall surfaces 7 of each of the precast slabs 2 of my invention define a laterally outwardly opening channel 14 which preferably extend from the top wall surface 8 to the bottom wall surface 9 thereof. A plurality of horizontally disposed vertically spaced generally U-shaped anchoring loops 15 extend horizontally outwardly from the bottom of the channel 14 at one side of the slab 2, and a plurality of like anchoring loops 16 extend horizontally outwardly from the bottom of the channel 14 at the opposite side of each slab 2 in vertically offset relationship to the anchoring loops 15. As shown in Fig. 4, the imbedded inner ends of the anchoring loops 1S and 16 toe inwardly toward each other as indicated at 17 to prevent the anchoring loops 15 and 16 from being accidentally pulled outwardly from the slabs 2. When a plurality-of slabs 2 are placed on the footing 3 in sideby-side relationship with their side wall surfaces 7 in abutting relationship, the adjacent channels 14 cooperate to form cavities 1S which extend vertically for the yfull height of the slabs 2. With the slabs 2 thus positioned, the looped outer ends of the anchoring loops 15 and 16 cooperate to define vertically extended passageways 19 within the cavities 1S. The passageways 19 are each adapted to receive a reinforcing rod 20, each of said reinforcing rods being provided with a plurality of spiderlike centering elements 21 which engage adjacent looped outer ends of the anchoring loops 15 and 16 to center the reinforcing rods 20 in their respective passageways 19. It will be appreciated that the anchoring loops 15 and 16 as well as the reinforcing rods 20 are preferably made of ferrous metal such as steel or the like commonly used in reinforced concrete structures.

When a plurality of slabs 2 have been placed on the footing 3 with their adjacent side walls 7 in abutting relationship, and with the reinforcing rods 20 placed in the passageways 19 defined by the anchoring loops 15 and 16, the cavities 18 and their passageways 19 are preferably filled with suitable cementitious material such as concrete in a plastic condition. Thereafter, when the concrete material within the cavities 18 and passageways 19 has set or hardened, the entire wall structure 1 results in an integral mass of great rigidity and strength, particularly adapted for basement or foundation Walls and capable of supporting relatively heavy building structure thereon.

For the purpose of temporarily holding adjacent slabs 2 together until the same are cemented by the concrete filling the cavities 18, I provide anchoring bars 22, one of which is shown, see Figs. l and 2. The anchoring bars 22 are preferably made from structural angle iron or the like and are positioned so as to extend'generally horizontally across the joint between adjacent slabs 2, said joint being defined by abutting side wall surfaces 7. With reference to Figs. l and 2, it will be seen that the slabs 2 are 3 provided with openings 23 extending transversely therethrough, said openings 23 being adapted to receive nutequipped bolts 24 that extend through suitable apertures in the anchoring bars 22. It will be noted that the anchor-1 ing bars 22 are positioned near the top walls 8 of the slabs 2 and serve to firmly anchor adjacent slabs together and in alignment with each other during assembly of the wall structure and until the concrete within the cavities 18 has hardened, after which time the bolts 24 and anchor-` ing bars 22 may be removed and `the transversely extending holes 23 filled with cement if desired. With reference to Figs. 2 and 6, it will be seen that the top surface 4 of the footing 3 forms the bottom of a longitudinally extending upwardly opening channel 25, which is preferably filled with concrete during subsequent building oper-` ations such as, for instance, the pouring of a concrete oor or the like.

The top surfaces 8 of the several slabs 2 are provided with aligned longitudinally extending upwardly opening channels 26 for the receptionof suitable building parts not shown but which are adapted to rest therein. For facilitating handling of the slabs 2 I provide a pair of longitudinally spaced upwardly opening recesses 27 in the top wall 8 of each of the slabs 2, and a pair of inverted generally U-shaped members 28 imbedded in the upper end portion of each slab 2. The looped upper ends 29 of each member 28 extends upwardly from the bottom of its respective recess 27, and is adapted to be engaged by the lift-` ing hook of a crane or the like, not shown. With reference to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the lower ends of the U-shaped members 28 are toed inwardly toward each other, as at 30, to prevent accidental removal of the members 28 from their respective slabs 2.

While the pre-cast slabs 2 may be produced in various sizes, I prefer to produce the same substantially equal in height to that of a normal basement when the wall 1 is to be used as a basement wall. The slabs 2 are equally adapted for use as outside walls of a basement or building as well as for inner walls or partitions thereof. Also, if desired, the slabs 2 may be formed with. cut-out portions, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2 and indicated at 31,`

to form window openings. Obviously, the same may be provided with pre-cast` door openings where desired.

I have found thatmuch time and expense has been saved in the building of a wall structure utilizing the precast slabs of my invention, and that the relatively few joints in such` a wall structure contribute to an extremely strong and rigid building foundation.

While I have shown and described a commercial embodiment of my novel wall structure and pre-cast slab therefor, it will be understood that the same is capable of modification without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

A wall including a plurality of precast slabs each comprising a generally rectangular monolithic body having front and rear wall surfaces, parallel top and bottom wall surfaces and vertical sides each comprising spaced coplanar vertical side wall surfaces defining therebetween a laterally outwardly opening channel extending downwardly from said top wall surface, said slabs being vertically disposed in side by side relation with the adjacent side wall surfaces thereof in abutting engagement, adjacent ones of said channels cooperating to provide a vertically disposed cavity between the abutting slabs, a plurality ofy horizontally disposed semi-circular anchoring loops projecting laterally outwardly from the bottoms of said channels into said cavity, the loops of one channel overlapping the loops of the adjacent channel with each loop of the one channel providing with the adjacent loop of the adjacent channel a pairof loops defining a vertical opening substantially circular in cross section, the openings of the pairs of loops being registered vertically to define a passageway substantially concentric to said cavity, and a reinforcing bar extending vertically through said passageway, said reinforcing bar having axially spaced therealong groups of crcumferentially spaced axially extending centering elements projecting radially outwardly from said bar, said centering elements engaging circumferentially spaced portions of the pairs of said loops and aligning the reinforcing bar on the axis of said passageway, said cavity being adapted to be filled withcementitious material to seal the adjacent slabs together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,226,954 Easterday May 22, 1917 1,597,167 Pace Aug. 24, 1926 1,809,504 Carvel June 9, 1931 1,923,645 Thompson Aug. 22, 1933 1,982,217 Luehrs Nov. 27,` 1934 2,351,856 Henderson June 20, 1944 2,359,471 Ewing Oct. 3, 1944 2,714,817 Griiths Aug. 9, 1955 

